Parma hold home advantage once again on Friday night when they play host to Genoa in Serie A as the hosts look to register back-to-back wins in the Italian top flight in order to give themselves a lifeline in their bid to avoid relegation.
A vitally important 2-0 home win over Roma on the weekend was one of the major surprise results in Serie A but Parma won’t mind one bit as the hosts are now only three points adrift of fourth from bottom outfit Cagliari and safety.
That unexpected victory over Roma also ended a miserable run of 17 league matches without a win for Parma but they’ll now head into this upcoming clash against Genoa with renewed confidence, especially as they’d failed to win any of their preceding 11 matches at their Stadio Ennio Tardini.
However, with just two home wins under their belts so far this term, the goals market appeals here as eight of Parma’s 14 matches on home soil have resulted in under 2.5 goals.
Parma are expected to be without defender Iacoponi and forward Cornelius who are injured.
Genoa’s run of matches without a win in Serie A was extended to six on the weekend when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Udinese on home turf at their Stadio Comunale Luigi Ferraris and the visitors dropped down to 14th place as a result.
Two defeats and four draws haven’t been enough to prevent Genoa slipping down the Serie A table following losses against Inter Milan and Roma (both away from home).
While draws with Torino, Hellas Verona, Sampdoria and Udinese have at least given Genoa something for their efforts.
Similar to their hosts, Genoa have managed to win just two matches on their travels though so far this season with the visitors holding a record that consists of 2 wins, 5 draws and 6 defeats.
Following a heavy 6-0 defeat away from home at the start of the season though, Genoa have at least tightened up at the back which has contributed to eight of their 13 away matches also resulting in under 2.5 goals, while Genoa have also failed to score in eight away matches also.
A low-scoring game therefore looks to be on the cards here between two struggling outfits.